Mood Swings A La Woman
by Hyacinthe Cassiline
Summary: Crack. That is all. Katara's having mood swings, Zuko's confused, Aang's naive, Sokka's nosy, and Toph is sarcastic. What else is new?


Don't ask where this came from. I honestly couldn't tell you. Maybe I hit my head again. My weirdest ideas seem to come to me then….you never know. Well, anyways, enjoy the mush and comedy that is Katara and Zuko. Anyways, men, be warned. You'll see why. *giggle* And women? Enjoy.

Also, I have to give credit to a friend of mine for an idea I put in here. It's from her fic, 'The Problem With Pyromaniacs, An Essay'. Seriously. Go read it. It's hysterical. Anyways, I'm using the end of that fic for this story. (The part where Aang has a much larger vocabulary. Yes, I am evil.)

In case it isn't painfully obvious, it's a Zutara. Lyke, der? Lol.

Disclaimer: If I owned Avater, I'd trade him in for Zuko. He's taller.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was a quiet and peaceful morning. The birds chirped happily from the trees, the sun was bright; not a cloud in the sky. Well, it was a lovely morning until a high pitched shriek ripped through the air. It was soon followed by a deeper yell and a crashing noise.

"Zuko, I can't believe you!"

"What the hell did I do this time?" Zuko really didn't understand how he kept pissing Katara off. It almost always felt as though he was attempting balancing on a tightrope over a field of broken glass. Just the slightest disturbance in his already precarious balance would usually send him right into a world of pain. Ah, the joys of Katara's anger.

"I'd stay away from her, Hothead." Zuko ignored Toph and stalked after Katara, who'd stomped into the forest a few seconds ago. Like hell she was getting away with her tantrum. Behind Zuko, Toph shrugged. "Your funeral, I suppose."

"Shouldn't we stop them? They've been fighting so much over the past three days I'm ready to grow my hair out just to pull it all out." Aang offered an exaggerated sigh as he ran his hands over his bald head, obviously lamenting the lack of hair.

"No, they'll work it out. I think." When nothing but silence met Sokka's comment, he continued. "Or maybe not."

"You're so immature!" The yell had everyone but Toph jumping. Even Sokka hadn't known his sister's voice could reach that high of a note. In shriek form, it was almost terrifying.

Zuko ran his hand through his hair with agitation. The pain of pulling a few tangles out in the process went unfelt due to his own anger.

"I don't know what the hell I did to piss you off this time. Maybe if you would just tell me, we wouldn't be fighting this much." The firebender's eyebrow twitched as he recalled everything prior to Katara's sudden hissy fit. He'd been walking through the campsite towards the lake nearby when he'd caught a glimpse of Katara. He'd called her name before following her. When he'd caught up to her, she'd screamed at him and stormed off back to her tent. Oddly enough, the week previous, he'd done the same thing and she'd invited him to come with her to gather water. He didn't know what had changed.

"I'm just…and you're just…" Katara broke off with a growl. Okay….Zuko could pretend to understand that all he wanted, but it certainly wouldn't make it a reality.

"I don't get it, Katara. Last week, I did the same thing, and you welcomed it." At this, Katara turned to face him, a look of pure rage covering her features.

"No, Zuko, it wasn't the same thing at all! You have to respect a woman's privacy!" At this, Zuko's mind went blank. His own annoyance froze, allowing confusion to take its place.

"Now I really don't get it. Why not just explain it to me?"

"I don't want to! Go back to camp and leave me alone for a while!"

"Fine, Katara. Whatever." Feeling dejected, Zuko turned and walked away. When he stepped through the trees, Sokka and Aang tried to 'act natural'. Yeah, they failed spectacularly. It was painfully obvious that they'd been eavesdropping. Toph, on the other hand, was smirking. She knew something.

"So, how'd it go, Firebutt?"

"Why don't you ask Sokka and Aang? Bet they know." At this, the two mentioned were quick to grin and act innocent.

"I'll pass." Zuko sat by Toph and drew in a breath to ask her why Katara was so angry when she interrupted him. "And don't ask me. It's a woman thing."

"But I want to know, Toph. I don't want her angry at me all the time."

"Give her a few more minutes. I'm sure she'll be fine and tell you then." The blind girl smirked. "Patience is a virtue." Zuko rolled his eyes and stood, heading to the trees on the opposite side of the campsite. Maybe a few minutes of meditation would do him some good. After finding a patch of grass that looked somewhat comfortable, Zuko sat and crossed his legs in the lotus position before letting his mind empty.

He lost track of time until he heard a sob coming from somewhere behind him. Startled, he turned to find Katara standing a few feet away from him, tears streaming down her cheeks. He stood quickly, wanting to comfort her. Before he could take even a step toward her, she flung herself into his arms.

"I'm sorry Zuko. I was really mean." Zuko crossed his eyes over her head, wondering where the mood change was coming from. He said nothing in reply, but merely wrapped her in his arms around the waterbender.

"It's okay. Why were you angry with me anyways?" At this, Katara immediately stiffened in his arms, and when Zuko looked down, he noticed her cheeks were colored with red.

"Promise you won't be grossed out?" Zuko had to stop himself from laughing out loud. He doubted he'd find the reason behind her anger gross.

"I promise." The firebender pulled away from her just enough that he could tilt her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his. He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Now, what did I do?"

"You didn't do anything." Here, her cheeks turned red again. "I…um…well….it's my…week." Zuko was confused again. Her…birthday week? The anniversary of her mother's death? That could mean anything.

"…." At Zuko's silence, Katara sighed, obviously not wanting to say it.

"I'm on my period." It was Zuko's turn to blush now.

"Oh, well then." She'd assumed he'd be grossed out? Cute. No, he wasn't grossed out. He just felt somewhat awkward.

"I knew it. You're disgusted, aren't you?" Katara pulled away from Zuko and turned to head back to camp. Before she could actually leave, Zuko reached out, gently grasping her hand.

"No, I'm really not. I've just never…well….been around it…I guess." Palm, meet forehead. Dictionary, also meet forehead. You guys will be splendid friends.

"Oh, okay then." Katara smiled shyly as she stepped back towards Zuko, who immediately pulled her back into his arms. "By the way, I'm thinking you should read a dictionary. You've been hanging out with Sokka too much. It's affecting your vocabulary." Well, the Katara he knew was definitely back.

"Did you guys kiss and make it all better yet?" Toph's voice sounded through the trees.

"Patience is a virtue, Toph!" Katara giggled at Zuko's remark. She grasped the firebender's hand and led him back to the campsite, where it became very obvious –again- that Sokka and Aang had indeed been listening.

An awkward silence covered the campsite.

"So….." Aang was the one to break the silence. "What's a period?"

"Katara! Explain!"

"Why do I always explain these things?"

"Well, you're a girl." Cue Katara's anger.

A few moments later, Sokka was running away from Katara, who was calling him any assortment of names ranging from 'sexist bastard' to 'toe-jam'. Toph sighed and tossed an arm around Aang's shoulders.

"Listen well, Twinkletoes. I'll only explain this once."

Needless to say, Aang learned a lot about female anatomy that he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know.

* * *

Okay, it's crack. I'll admit it. Heh-heh. Hope you enjoyed it. Drop me a line, give me some feedback. *grin*


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